There has been a rising concern in the food industry in the last few years. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs are becoming more and more prevalent in food. According to Dr. Ronald Frank, an associate professor of plant molecular genetics at Missouri S&T, a GMO can best be described as “[A]n organism that has been modified through recombinant DNA technology as opposed to modified through breeding or cross breeding. Genes are introduced into the organism artificially, in a laboratory.”

One of the companies that is connected to the development and production of GMOs is Monsanto. Monsanto is a global company based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their main focus is agriculture biotechnology and agrochemical aspects. Throughout the years, they have produced a variety of products, but presently, they are in the seed industry. According to Matt Threadgill, a 2010 RHS graduate who held a co-op, which is a paid internship at Monsanto, the company has recently expanded.

“Traditionally [Monsanto] was a chemical company that sold herbicides and pesticides. They developed GMO’s that revolutionized the farming industry. Thier current specialization is continuing to advance GMO’s. Also, they branched into an area known as smart farming, which is using instruments to gather data about crop yield,” Threadgill said.

Monsanto has been known to take swift legal action on what farmers do with seeds. According to monsanto.com, 145 lawsuits have been filed since 1997 in the United States. To date, only 9 cases have gone through full trial. Rolla High School biology teacher Dwight Warnke explains the process that Monsanto uses regarding their seeds.

“I don’t know the technical detail, but the way it goes is that when a farmer chooses to use their seed then they sign a contract stating that all of the product of what they grow has to be sowed as feed or for commercial use. They cannot use that seed; they can’t clean that seed and then replant it the following year. If they do, then Monsanto will have legal actions in which they literally sue them,” Warnke said.

There is a large controversy on whether or not GMOs are harmful to people. Many argue that the unnatural changes to the plant’s genetics will have a negative effect on peoples health.

“What people are worried about is that you’re taking an organism, say a soybean, and now you’re putting a gene in it that produces a protein, that does something good for the soybean, herbicide resistant, that protein, if it hasn’t been consumed by humans over evolutionary time could produce allergies or something like that. So thats what they say, there really isn’t any evidence,” Dr. Frank said.

The company’s genetically modified seeds have been widely accepted by the agriculture community because of their efficiency. Monsanto’s products have taken the market by storm; some argue too much.

“What I have a hard time understanding is how a company really monopolized the entire industry. If you take a look at the sources, they started this [soybean seed] in 1996, by 2008 92 percent [of soybeans] raised in the United States were Monsanto soybeans. You know if you had a railroad or an airline or anyone else that monopolized 92 percent of the industry, everyone else would go nuts. And yet, nothing is said,” Warnke said.

There might be an explainable reason for this, though. Many high ranking government officials have held high ranking jobs at Monsanto, creating a special interest.

“The administrator for EPA, well she was VP of Monsanto. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas? Well he was an attorney for Monsanto. So you’re thinking thats a certain interest, you used to be for Monsanto, and now you’re making the laws,” said Warnke.

Dr. Frank has a plan to help deal with the GMO problem that is facing America.

“I think what’s going to happen is that we are going to have to deal with it on a case by case basis. I don’t think you can just jump in and say that its all bad or its all good. Are we doing that though?” Dr. Frank said.